Colleges: Nichols' DeLuca a star on TV and the tennis court

Nichols senior Justin DeLuca is always up for an adventure, so when his former Bison tennis teammate Tyler McLaughlin called to see if DeLuca wanted to join the crew of his fishing boat, The Pin Wheel, for Season 3 of the popular National Geographic Channel reality show "Wicked Tuna," DeLuca was all for it.

"I was like, 'Yeah, absolutely,'" said DeLuca, who grew up in Mashpee. "'Let's do this.'"

Nat Geo Channel chronicled Captain McLaughlin, first mate DeLuca and deckhand Ari Vieira, also a former Nichols tennis player, for almost four months last year as they fished for bluefin tuna in the rough waters off Rye, New Hampshire, and Gloucester, and competed with the show's other boats.

Season 3 of "Wicked Tuna" is currently airing Sundays at 9 p.m. There are a few episodes left.

"I definitely did it for the adventure," DeLuca said. "It is quite the lifestyle out there. It was definitely a fun time. I'm always down for an adventure. I love the outdoors and I grew up on a lake and the ocean, so it was right up my alley. Being on TV was cool I guess, but I would have done it with cameras or no cameras. It was an awesome experience."

His newfound TV stardom has added to DeLuca's celebrity at Nichols. He launched his own apparel company, Sunnyboost, and its bright tees and sweats are worn all over campus. For last week's Commonwealth Coast Conference tourney, Nichols coach Paul Brower had special T-shirts made with the Nichols logo on the front and the Sunnyboost logo on the back. The Bison captured the CCC title and an automatic NCAA Division 3 Tournament berth for the third straight year and DeLuca, the CCC Player of the Year, played a major role.

"Justin is one of those personalities people want to be around," Brower said. "He's done a lot of impressive things for a guy his age. He's a leader of our team. The way he practices, the way he trains — he brings everybody up around him with his energy level."

This season, DeLuca is 15-1 at No. 1 singles and 15-0 at No. 1 doubles with junior partner Brandon Roode. DeLuca owns the program record for singles (65) and doubles (62) victories. He never lost a conference match, going 21-0 at singles and 27-0 at doubles in his career.

"He's probably the most mentally strong player I've ever seen," Brower said, "and I think he tries to pass that along to other players. His approach to the game, his effort level is on a different planet."

The Bison (21-1) will face MIT in a first-round NCAA match Friday at Amherst College.

DeLuca was wearing one of his Sunnyboost T-shirts during this week's episode of "Wicked Tuna," and his "Boost" lifestyle was also featured. "'Anything is possible' is the mentality," DeLuca said.

DeLuca had been tuna fishing with McLaughlin, an avid fisherman since childhood and a commercial fisherman since he graduated from Nichols in 2011, only three times before joining his crew. He soon learned the rigors of his friend's livelihood.

"Sometimes we were out there for six- to seven-day trips," DeLuca said. "I thought the boat was going to tip over multiple times. I thought we were going to die multiple times. But I trust Tyler. He's been doing it for years, so I trust him with my life."

McLaughlin and his former crew were the "Wicked Tuna" Season 2 champions.

DeLuca said in addition to the Nat Geo Channel camera man, numerous GoPro cameras were set up around the boat to capture scenes for this season of "Wicked Tuna." Filming was done last July, August, September and October. DeLuca said after a while he forgot he was even being filmed.

His experience on The Pin Wheel was about adventure and also about teamwork, especially when the crew was reeling in its biggest catches. On camera, they caught a 420-pounder; off camera, one weighing 460 pounds.

"Being out there every day for almost four months, it was epic," DeLuca said. "It was crazy reeling in hundreds of pounds of tuna. It was absolutely insane."

DeLuca said he's been watching "Wicked Tuna" every Sunday night.

After graduation, DeLuca plans to continue "full steam ahead," he said, with Sunnyboost and any other adventures that may come his way.

You can check out his Sunnyboost apparel at sunnyboost.net.

Lancers beat expectations

In 2012, the Worcester State baseball team won just 15 games with a mostly freshman lineup. Last year, the Lancers finished under .500 (19-22) again, but were more competitive and won a MASCAC Tournament game.

"The expectations for this season were to continue to be competitive, to win more close games and to make a deeper run in the playoffs," Worcester State coach Dirk Baker said.

Bolstered by a tremendous second-half run, the Lancers have gone well beyond those early-season hopes.

On Monday, they defeated Salem State, 5-3, to capture the MASCAC Tournament title and the conference's automatic NCAA Division 3 Tournament berth.

Worcester State will find out its first-round NCAA regional opponent Sunday night.

"It's definitely exciting," Baker said. "This is the epitome of 'team.' It's been a pleasure with these guys."

This will be Worcester State's fifth NCAA appearance under Baker, who last week was named the MASCAC Coach of the Year for the third time.

Junior shortstop David Ruggiero and junior pitcher Ben Libuda of Auburn earned All-MASCAC first-team honors while freshman outfielder Adam Barry of Auburn was named to the second team.

In mid-April, the Lancers were in danger of an 0-4 weekend after dropping a pair to Westfield State and losing the first game of a doubleheader to Fitchburg State. Worcester State managed just three runs in the three games and trailed the Falcons, 3-0, in the second game of the doubleheader. The Lancers exploded for six runs in the bottom of the third and went on to beat Fitchburg State, 7-3. Since then, Worcester State is 13-2.

"We got on a roll, and it's been pretty remarkable," Baker said.

Ruggiero, who batted .412 in the MASCAC tourney, was named MASCAC Player of the Week. Barry, who hit a solo home run in the championship game against Salem, was named Rookie of the Week, and freshman Andrew Wells, who earned the complete-game victory in the title game, was named Pitcher of the Week.

Contact Jennifer Toland at jtoland@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @JenTandG.

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